28 November 2016
Churches call for government and UN to act on Aleppo
The UN has warned mass starvation in Aleppo is a real prospect
if aid is not allowed in. As the city comes under further
bombardment and food is about to run out, Christian, Muslim,
Jewish, Sikh and Hindu faith leaders call on the UK Government to
act. They issued the following statement on Monday 28th
November.
Joint Statement Calling for the Urgent Delivery of
Humanitarian Aid to Aleppo
We, UK faith leaders, jointly call on the UK Government to act to support the urgent delivery of aid to those besieged in Aleppo.
In eastern Aleppo, an estimated 250,000 people, including
100,000 children, have been cut off from food and medical supplies
since August 2016. The UN warns that there will soon be no food
left in the besieged part of the city.
This is an ancient city which has been home to people of
many faiths, we pray for all those still in the city and call for
action to preserve the lives of the people of Aleppo.
The situation is now desperate, yet the UN is still being
prevented from delivering desperately needed aid to the besieged
civilians. It seems a very real possibility that the world could
stand by whilst 250,000 people are facing starvation.
As faith leaders we bear witness to the suffering of all those in the city of Aleppo. We call on the UK government to take action at an international level, including in the UN General Assembly, and to provide practical support to facilitate the delivery of aid to civilians in the city.
The UK can lead the way in alleviating the terrible suffering of the people of Aleppo, we pray that action is taken to come to their aid.
Signatories:
Muslim Council of Britain, Harun Khan, Secretary Genera
Baptist Union of Great Britain, The Revd Lynn Green, General
Secretary
Church of Scotland, The Rev Dr Richard Frazer, Convener of the
Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland
Hindu Council UK, Sanjay Jagatia, Director.
Methodist Church, Revd Dr Roger Walton, President of the
Methodist Conference and Rachel Lampard, Vice President of the
Methodist Conference.
United Reformed Church, The Revd John Proctor, General
Secretary.
Sikh Council UK, Mr Gurmel Singh, Secretary General.
Mohammed Kozbar, Director of Finsbury Park Mosque.
Lewisham Islamic Centre, Imam Shakeel Begg.
Reform Judaism, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Senior
Rabbi.
Liberal Judaism, Rabbi Danny Rich, Chief Executive.